Man convicted for hijacking ex-girlfriend’s MySpace account

After breaking up with her boyfriend of two and a half years, an Illinois woman began to notice obscene messages being posted from her MySpace account. One post included her contact information and a picture of her in a thong. Another read: "Need a blow job? My dad buys them for my boyfriends." She was surprised because although she had shared her password with her ex-boyfriend, she changed it after the breakup.

She called her ex-boyfriend, Steven Kucharski, and demanded that he remove the content or she would go to the police. According to court records, he "started 'giggling and laughing' and told her that she deserved it."

The police investigated. A search warrant to MySpace revealed logs showing that the obscene content had been posted from an IP address belonging to Kucharski's father. Kucharski had helped the woman set up her MySpace account and used an e-mail address that belonged to him. This allowed Kucharski to gain access to the account even after she changed her password.

In February 2012, an Illinois trial court found the evidence sufficient to convict Kucharski of several charges, including "knowingly interrupting" an electronic communications service with intent to harass the victim and "unlawful use of encryption" in the commission of a crime.

Kucharski appealed. On March 29, an Illinois appellate court upheld his conviction for harassment, but it overturned the encryption ruling.

Kucharski argued that the online harassment statute was unconstitutionally vague because it didn't define what it means to "interrupt" an electronic communications service. The appellate court disagreed, holding that it meant "to stop or hinder by breaking in" or "to break the uniformity or continuity of." Accessing his ex-girlfriend's MySpace account without permission clearly fit the definition in the statute, the court ruled.

But the court was persuaded by Kucharski's arguments about the "unlawful use of encryption" charge. This charge was based on Kucharski changing the password on his ex's MySpace account. But the court held that encryption must involve converting data from one format to another. Merely changing the password used to control access to an account didn't qualify.

Under Illinois law, online harassment is generally a misdemeanor. But it can become a felony in certain circumstances, including when the offense is repeated multiple times against the same victim, when the harassment involves death threats, and when an adult harasses a minor. None of those circumstances seems to apply in this case.

A good rule of thumb: don't hijack other peoples' social media accounts. Last month we covered a case in which a court found an employer had violated Pennsylvania law by taking control of a former employee's LinkedIn account.